HomeAssessment of the epidemiological risk of Chikungunya Dengue and zika viruses outbreaks in Cameroon

Assessment of the epidemiological risk of Chikungunya Dengue and zika viruses outbreaks in Cameroon

Generally, in Cameroon, when someone develops an acute febrile illness, the presumptive diagnosis is malaria. However, sometimes this diagnosis is not confirmed after laboratory tests, despite the persistence of fever. When this happens, nobody knows what to do. These non-malaria febrile illnesses may be caused by viral infections transmitted through the bite of mosquitoes such as dengue, chikungunya, or zika. There is little knowledge of the burden or impact of these diseases on the local population in Cameroon, and indeed sub-Saharan Africa, prohibiting any preventive, control or management actions in the affected areas. To address this knowledge gap, my team and I will conduct a scientific study to evaluate the presence of these viruses in Yaoundé, Douala, Kribi and Ngaoundéré from November 2018 to June 2021.

As we are interested in mosquito-transmitted viruses, we will focus on both the human and mosquito hosts. We will try to demonstrate that dengue, chikungunya, and zika viruses are implicated in febrile illnesses in Cameroon by examining acute febrile patients. Then, we will evaluate the epidemic risk by estimating the prevalence of this virus in the healthy population and monitoring the mosquito population living in the regions with high prevalence. The results of this study will be used to improve the health of the Cameroonian population by informing medical personnel that these viruses contribute to febrile illness. This study will be the starting point of more targeted vector control for these diseases where it is needed.